Ghana

Feb 6-10

After nine days at sea we finally make it to Takoradi, Ghana. We had a nice welcoming again. They were drumming and dancing and singing. It took a while for them to clear the ship because of immigration but it finally happened. Today I did the Twin City Tour of Sekondi and Takoradi.  The first stop was the fishing village. They showed us where they built their boats and how they built them. Then they showed us how they smoke the fish in the mud ovens that they use.  The kids in the town were so cute. They were so funny. They loved to pose for pictures and then come to the camera to see them. The last stop was the Takoradi Market.

The second day I did a habitat for humanity service trip to help build a house. When we got there, there were 4 small houses that were partially built.  They were built out of cement blocks. So pretty much what we did was make cement and clear an area where all the cement blocks were and put them in a pile.  The cement blocks were pretty heavy. The guys were able to help a little more than the girls because they need help lifting the cement blocks over your head to the people on top of the house. 

I went to the canopy forest at Kakum National Park and saw Elmina Castle. The canopy forest was really cool. We walked a little through the jungle. You could  hear the birds in the trees and see some butterflies but you didn't see any wild life because they are hunted for Bush Meat so they hide when they hear people. We walked on a roped walk way that was connected to trees throughout the jungle about 200 feet high. On our walk back a baby Green Mamba snake fell on some guys head. After the canopy walk we did a tour of one of the slave dungeons, Elmina Castle. It was really cool, they had a draw bridge at the entrance. It had two moats around it which was filled with the ocean water 500 years ago when it was used. Inside we learned about all the different rooms, saw where they kept the male slaves and women slaves in separate rooms. We saw the door of no return. 

The last day I went to Nzulezo Village, which was a water village built on stilts. It rained the entire time we were canoeing to the village. Our guides, Ebonese and Justice,  kept calling our canoe a "BMW boat" because of how fast we were going.  After the village we went to Fort Appolonia, which was a smaller slave dungeon.

Canopy Walk

Sea Olympics

feb3
Today was the start of the Sea Olympics! It was really rainy in the morning i was nervous that some of the events were going to be cancelled because of the weather but it ended up clearing up. The events were: synchronized swimming, dodge ball, limbo, hula hoop, SAS (sas's version of the bball game HORSE), volleyball, crab soccer, tug-o-war, trivia, card stacking, dress your LLC, wheel barrow races, crew suit run. I participated in the volleyball event! we came in second! the synchronized swimming was hilarious.
Then it was time for the closing ceremony. the LLC's put on a dance for us and then the winner was announced. and the RED SEA WON! i cant believe we won because last night we had no enthusiasm but some how we pulled it off! FIRST ONES OFF THE SHIP IN SAN DIEGO! it feels so good to be a champion hahaha.

Brazil

This is the house I stayed in when I did my home stay in Brazil

 Me holding a baby Alligator

My home stay family and I

Me and Papa

I caught a Piranha! 

Jan23
Our welcoming to Manaus was amazing! They had dancers and singers. They were in all these crazy costumes too and they held up a sign that said "welcome semester at sea" They have been dancing for over and hour now and they are still going.
I did the amazon explore. The boat kinda got boring after a while and made you want to go to sleep. But we saw the Village built on sticks which was really cool. Then we saw where the Amazon River and Rio Negro meet. You can actually see the separation.  While we were there we saw some river dolphins. Then we did a hike to see the giant water lilies and saw some monkeys and a baby cayman. Then we got on smaller canoes to see the tallest tree in the jungle. It was HUGE! while we were there a lady was carrying a sloth, which was actually her pet. We saw a giant catfish that a little boy held up and a very large fish called a picanucu. We went fishing  for piranhas after. They don't have fishing poles like us. It was a piece of Bamboo with a string and hook. I caught a piranha too!
Jan24
Today was the start of my first home stay. It was so much fun! We took a hour and half minute boat ride to this small town, where everyone knows everyone and people and animals (cats, dogs) just walk right in the house. It only has about 200 people in it.  The town was called Acajatuba. It is the safest place in Brazil with no crime and no drugs.  They spoke no english, there were probably like 4 people who knew words like "Hi, bye whats your name and how are you?, dance" Other than that you pretty much played charades.  This girl paige and i stayed in a house right next to the soccer field and had a beautiful ocean view.   Sabastioa, who was always wearing his purple cowboy hat / sombrero when he was outside was 66 years old and had 2 sons and a disabled wife.
Once we met our new "MaMa" and "PaPa" is what they called it, we went to our house and they prepared us lunch.  The food was so good. We eventually figured out that his son is going to school to be a chef. at least that is what we thought he meant.
Then it was time to play soccer. We tied 3-3 but that was only because we had out tour guide on our team and Antonio, who were good. Everyone else didn't know how to play soccer. It was so much fun. I played in my vibrams (my toe shoes in the picture) so all the kids were amazed by them. They would just look at me and laugh. It was so hot playing soccer. Everyone was dripping in sweat. When i say dripping i mean it. Even our shins were dripping. It was so gross. After soccer, we went piranha fishing, which no one in my boat caught one except for the Brazilian boat driver. When we met up with the other boat they caught about 15 piranhas. So jealous. Then it was time to go caiman hunting because it was dark and that is when they come out. The way you spotted them was shine a little light and look for a red light which is their eyes reflecting the light. Our guide, Matias, actually caught a baby one. He was crazy. He told us when it isn't the raining season, the water is low so you can really see the aduly caiman and he likes to wrestle and catch them. The little one he caught, we all got to hold it and take a picture.
 Then it was time to dance. We went to the main store area and the kids put on Brazilian dances, one dance was called the "Goodbye Dance" Then after they taught us the dance. It was a lot of fun. Then we just hung out with them and gave them all stuffed animals and two of the girls kept trying to teach me how to dance and they would just laugh at me because i was really bad.  Then it was time for bed. Papa walked us back to the house and then had the hammocks set up in the room with mosquito nets and a fan. Also one of those mosquito repellent coils. didn't get a single bit except for an ant on my ankle earlier.
Jan 25
Papa Woke us up at 5 to see the sunrise and give us some freshly brewed coffee. Didn't get much sleep probably about 3 hours. So tired. Sleeping in a hammock isn't as comfortable as you think. The sun rise was so pretty.  we went on boats into the middle of the river to watch it. We saw dolphins while we were there too. I also learned that the "black river" isn't actually black, it is red it just looks black because of how deep it is.  Then it was time for our two hour hike into the jungle. It was crazy. they were literally cutting down a path with a machete. They showed us all these trees that are used for medicine, a tree that helps cure malaria, it is boiling in tea first but he had us all try the bark, it was really bitter.  A leaf that smelled like mint/ vick's vapor rub and a clove tree. He also showed us how to make an armadillo trap with all these different branches and vines from the jungle. Then we saw sacada nests in the ground. A baby tarantula. He actually picked it up from behind its head to show us its teeth and the posionous venom dripping from its teeth.  Since it was just a baby it wasn't as harmful, as adult spreads this gas out of its but that makes your eyes burn so you can't attack it. It usually does this to snakes and lizards. Then from this one palm tree, he and Antonio used its leaves to make things from it. they made a crown, a cricket (which i have) a snake and a bird.  He made me a star necklace because i was good at soccer hahah. Then we some how made our way back to the boats. When we got back to the village we made bracelets. The beads were really pretty colors and they had flat beads and you used a needle to poke a hole in them. Then we went on a tour of the town, we saw the school again, where they build the boats and the Rubber trees.  The way they collected the rubber was they cut diagonal slits in the side of the tree and a little spout that poured the sap out of the tree by smoking it out. He showed us the sap and it was white.  also he showed us where to find an actual brazilian nut.  It is in a coconut looking thing and then the nuts are inside it in a casing. To get the actual nut you have to cut the outer layer. That is why they are so expensive because it takes a long time to get them out. And there were actual mango trees right outside my house
Then it was time to say goodbye to our family and friends. We took a group picture before we left. Our Papa loved the "I Love NY" tshirts I gave them and was so happy. He kept giving me hugs.
Jan26
Today i went to the orphanage. The kids were so cute but there was only 14 of them and then 38 of us and we only had an hour and a half there. the kids loved it. i gave them sweet tarts and dum dum lollipops.  This one girl kept coming back for more sweet tarts but i think she was handing them out too because she would take a handful. it was funny because she would say it in portugese and i would have no idea what she was saying. we gave them one of those indestructible soccer balls because the soccer ball we were playing with before that was really flat. we played tag with them and one of the kids learned to fly a kite. they just had a great time.
jan27
Went to the opera house with bill which was beautiful it is the 7th best place to listen to music in the world. It was given to Brazil from Europe and the inside mural on the ceiling was created by a french painter and when you look up is like looking under the Eiffel tower.  The box seats on the side of the stage were for the wealthy people. they just bought them to be seen because they were the worst seats in the theater.  Also what else was pretty cool was that the lamps were made from murano glass in italy.  It seats 700 people. Under each seat there was an air conditioner. The best seat is where the mayor sits which was on the second level directly in the center.  They still perform free events and it usually fills the whole theater but the mayor rarely comes and no one else is allowed to sit there. And they had a miniature replica of it build out of legos! which was probably my favorite part.

January 16th finally made it Dominica! I went to the emerald pools and walked through the rainforest. The next trip was the 4x4 through the jungle. the views were beautiful. Had a view of the ship from high up. We got to jump in the waterfall. Saw papaya trees, banana trees- some had bags around the bananas so they know when they are ripe and grapefruit trees. Coffee trees and cinnamon trees. Pineapples in the ground.  Main dish is mountain chicken (giant frog). On the trips they made you do chants like: we are the waiti, the wacky wacky rollers...

jan 17th
I went to Irie Safari to Champagne reef.  The reef was amazing! It has little bubbles that come up from the ground because of the gases that are escaping from the volcanoes which also make the water warm.  One of our guides actually got some of the water from the holes and let us feel it.  I think i got a lot of cool pictures but i wish i just changed the settings to underwater mode. I saw a spotted eel, squid, sea cucumber, sea pearl, crab and some cool fish.  There was also a chain, an anchor and a cannon that is in the reef.